


five minutes to save a life

by reidingandwriting



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Aaron Hotchner Acting as Spencer Reid's Parental Figure, Derek Morgan & Spencer Reid Friendship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Protective Derek Morgan, Sad Spencer Reid, Sick Spencer Reid, Spencer Reid Needs a Hug, Worried Derek Morgan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:21:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28495284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reidingandwriting/pseuds/reidingandwriting
Summary: Spencer Reid’s struggling.Derek Morgan’s there to help.All the feels.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner & Spencer Reid, Derek Morgan & Spencer Reid, The BAU Team & Spencer Reid
Comments: 1
Kudos: 55





	five minutes to save a life

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys! plz leave comments and kudos at the end if you enjoy! i also take requests :) love you all <3

His knuckles were practically turning a deep shade of white against the leather steering wheel from the strong, relentless grip. Relief washed over his complexion as he sought out his apartment complex in the distance. He needed a hit, just one, just one for the day. He promised himself he’d slow down, slowly breakdown his tolerance until he could function properly without it. Rounding the corner, swinging the car door open, and shuffling inside the dim apartment was muscle memory. His new habit of sneaking past his living room and into his bathroom, opening the medicine cabinet, and pressing down on the syringe had also become quite familiar. His doe brown eyes, which poorly reflected against the flickering bathroom light, rolled so far back he wouldn’t be surprised if he’d caught a glimpse of his brain. He’d felt the cool rush of the toxic liquid coursing through his visible veins. This was where he belonged. In this deep sensation where nothing really mattered, where no one truly cared. The brief sensation of complete euphoria.

Hotch had told him to leave early. Again. Not that he cared, he wasn’t completing his best work anyway. Instead of filing away cases, he was too busy shooting up. It’s not as if anyone noticed. Well, did they? The whole ‘Reid, you know you can talk to me’ ordeal from his coworkers had gotten annoying anyways. As he lay underneath the steaming water of the shower, he realized he didn’t even care if they noticed. He didn’t think they cared enough to confront him about it, otherwise they would have done it already. He was in this alone. As usual. Nobody was reliable anyways, nobody stuck around long enough to earn that label. First his dad, then Gideon. His mom was on thin ice. Everyone that ever gave a damn about him evacuated his life in the blink of an eye leaving him to believe that he was the problem. 

Sometime later he woke up laying in the stinging shower and gathered the strength to turn off the now icy cold water. He pulled out his dampened phone from his pocket and took his pawed sweater sleeve to wipe away the droplets forming on the cracked screen. 

6 missed calls (derek morgan :D)

He wiped the sleep out of eyes mumbling. “Great.” He hesitantly pushed the call button to return whatever it was that Derek needed. “Reid here.” His voice was still raspy from sleep and his body was shivering from the cold clothes covering his malnourished form on the shower floor.

“Reid! Sorry, I tried to call you a few times, hope I didn’t wake you from anything.” Reid rolled his eyes at his phone while realizing the time read 8:47 pm. Four hours. He’d incoherently passed out for four hours. “Giving you a heads up that I’m heading over. Hotch wants me to make sure everything’s okay with you.” 

Fuck. 

After silence came from the other end Derek spoke up again. “Is everything okay with you?” The older male was only five minutes away from Reid’s apartment complex now. What could happen in five minutes? “You know, Spencer, no one expects you to be completely healed from the whole Tobias situation. It’s completely okay to ask for help sometimes and to not be totally healed from a traumatic-“

The line went blank as Reid hung up already knowing the whole ‘you’re a victim’ speech Derek had ready for him. He needed time to clean up whatever mess he was dealing with anyways. He assessed his situation as he dizzily stood up from the shower floor. Bagging up any evidence of his high, he shoved the syringe and needles back into his medicine cabinet already calling out his name to use again. He just needed another hit, two hits, two hits for the day. He’d start his tolerance break tomorrow.

Derek showed up no later than two minutes after Spencer’s self induced relapse. Could it even be called a relapse if he wasn’t clean in the first place? 

Banging on the wooden door so hard his knuckles would surely be bruised in the morning, he resorted to using the spare key under the mat. Why the hell wasn’t Reid opening the damn door? He searched the golden haired boy’s apartment until he reached the sealed shut bathroom door. 

“Reid. Spencer? Let me in there, okay? Whatever’s wrong, I can help fix it. You just have to open the door, kid.” 

A quiet sob erupted from the other side of the door. “There’s no fixing this.” It’s like Derek could hear the slight tremor of brokenness in his voice just from the small statement.

“No, Spencer, there is. You just need to trust me and open the door. Kid, I don’t know what I’d do if you’re hurt in there and I’m stuck out here with no way to-“ Derek’s hand swung to the knob as soon as he heard the gentle click of the lock. 

Nothing could’ve prepared him for the visual that would surely be stuck in his brain every night as he entered the bathroom. Spencer was wrecked. Evidence of the situation took over the bathroom floor as the younger man huddled into a ball in the corner. “I’m so sorry. I-I’m so so s-sorry.” The sharp cries struck Derek as if he was stabbed with a knife in the heart. He could tell Reid was slowly losing consciousness as he lifted him from the cold tile floor and moved him to the safety of his bedroom. 

The kid was shaking. His lithe body trembled underneath the weight of the dampened clothes that had to have surpassed uncomfortable. Derek gently helped him slip out of his wet sweater as he sushed his silent, weakened sobs of regret. How couldn’t they have sensed things were getting this bad for Reid? Weren’t they supposed to be his family?

After the warmth of fresh clothes enveloped his body, he gained the strength to quietly speak out. “Thanks.”

If Derek weren’t paying full attention to the boy below him, he would’ve missed the small invitation of gratitude that escaped his cracked lips.

“Anything for you, Spencer. We can fix this. I promise you, you can rely on me. I’m not going anywhere.”

Derek had a lot to go over to solidify this drastic situation. He’d have to confirm working from home with Hotch, make sure Reid was in control of not relapsing, all while dealing with the symptoms Reid would soon display of withdrawal.

Derek Morgan was wrong. A lot could happen in five minutes.


End file.
